Free AP US History Tests
APUSH Short Answer Questions
Part B of our our full-length AP US History Practice Test features four APUSH short answer questions. You are required answer the first two questions and then you may choose one of the last two questions to answer. The time limit for this section of the exam is 40 minutes. After you finish your responses, you can follow the links at the bottom of this page to review examples of answers that would earn a perfect score.
Answer question 1 and question 2.
1. Read the excerpts provided and then respond to parts a, b, and c.
FDR’s major banking “reform,” the second Glass-Steagall Act, actually weakened the banking system by breaking up the strongest banks to separate commercial banking from investment banking. … Almost every historian has praised FDR’s other major financial “reform,” establishing the Securities and Exchange Commission to supervise the registration of new securities and the operation of securities of markets, but in terms of rate of return, investors were not better off than they were in the 1920s. … High unemployment lasted as long as it did because of all the New Deal policies that took money out of people’s pockets, disrupted the money supply, restricted production, harassed employers, destroyed jobs, discouraged investment, and subverted economic liberty needed for sustained business recovery.
— Jim Powell, FDR’s Folly: How Roosevelt and His New Deal Prolonged the Great Depression, 2003.
“Although New Deal economic policies came up short in the 1930s, they implanted several “stabilizers” that have been successful in averting another such depression. The Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 established government supervision of the stock market. … The Glass-Steagall Banking Act forced the separation of commercial and investment banking and broadened the powers of the Federal Reserve Board to change interest rates and limit loans for speculation … The creation of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) increased government supervision of state banks and significantly lowered the number of bank failures. Such safeguards restored confidence in the discredited banking system and established a firm economic foundation that performed well for decades thereafter.”
— Roger Biles, A New Deal for the American People, 1991.
a. Briefly explain the difference between Powell’s and Biles’ views on Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal legislation.
b. Briefly explain how one historical event or development from 1932 to 1945 that is not explicitly mentioned in the excerpts could be used to support Powell’s view.
c. Briefly explain how one historical event or development from 1932 to 1945 that is not explicitly mentioned in the excerpts could be used to support Biles’ view.
2. Read the excerpt provided and then respond to parts a, b, and c.
Meanwhile, “the plot thickens” — the evil spreads. Large demands are made on the national treasury (to wit: the poor man’s pockets) … The loss of thousands of her own men, and the slaughter of tens of thousands of the sons and daughters of Mexico, have rather given edge than dullness to our appetite for fiery conflict and plunder. … We know where to find the so-called Democrats. They are the accustomed panderers to slaveholders: nothing is either too mean, too dirty, or infamous for them, when commanded by the merciless man stealers of our country. No one expects anything honorable or decent from that party, touching human rights. They annexed Texas under the plea of extending the area of freedom. They elected James K. Polk, the slaveholder, as the friend of freedom; and they have backed him up in his Presidential falsehoods.
— Frederick Douglass, “War with Mexico,” North Star, January 21, 1848.
a. Briefly describe the point of view of this excerpt.
b. Briefly describe how one specific historical event or development between 1800 and 1844 led to historical developments such as those depicted in the excerpt.
c. Briefly describe how one specific historical event or development between 1844 and 1877 resulted from developments such as those depicted in the excerpt.
Answer either question 3 or question 4.
3. Respond to parts a, b, and c.
a. Briefly describe one way in which the British governed America from 1607 to 1754 that led the United States of America to declare independence from Great Britain.
b. Briefly describe one similarity or one difference between how the British governed America from 1607 to 1754 and how they governed America from 1754 to 1776.
c. Briefly describe one similarity or one difference between United States government policy from 1776 to 1848 and the previous British government policy in the American colonies.
4. Respond to parts a, b, and c.
a. Briefly describe one way in which United States policy toward the Soviet Union from 1917 to 1949 contributed to the Cold War between the two nations.
b. Briefly describe one similarity or one difference between the United States’ response and the Soviet Union’s response to Cold War events from 1950 to 1979.
c. Briefly describe one similarity or one difference between the United States’ response and the Soviet Union’s response to Cold War events from 1980 to 1991.
Once you completed your responses, you can view sample answers here: SAQ Example 1, SAQ Example 2, SAQ Example 3, SAQ Example 4. Use the button below to move on to the practice DBQ.